Winter Weeds

Winter weeds are sneaky. They lie under the frost or snow and strengthen their root systems so that when spring arrives, they can take over your garden. Those sparse green leaves are deceptive. These are not little weeds; these are potential monsters.

I worked outside today to enjoy the bit of winter sunshine that warmed the air. It was cool but not too cold - a perfect day for working. There are a surprising number of weeds that have already grown since the fall.The best strategy here is to simple scrape off their tops and hope they will be exhausted trying to grow new leaves. This is especially true for mugwort and other invaders. It takes a lot of energy for them to grow during winter and this is the time to slow their development.

The lawn weeds are easy to spot. In winter, most (semi-tropical variety)lawns go dormant so that the only green color you see are the weeds. The dormant lawn is so dry and brittle it makes pulling the weeds much easier than when the lawn is lush and green. There was a lot of nutsedge in the lawn.